Hongjiang Blood Tofu Duck

Hongjiang Blood Tofu Duck

　　Hongjiang Blood Tofu Duck is a famous dish with typical flavors of western Hunan, originating from Hongjiang City. During cooking, the duck meat, along with dried red chili peppers, ginger, camphor, and glutinous rice cakes, is deep-fried in boiling oil over high heat. Then water is added, along with duck blood and other ingredients, and the mixture is simmered over low heat. The finished dish is known for its rich aroma, full flavor, golden color, and tender, juicy texture.

　　　　Dish Example

　　　　Cooking Method and Key Points for Hongjiang Sauce-Braised Whole Duck

　　　　(1) Ingredients

　　　　One young duck (about 1500g), 30g Hongjiang sweet bean paste, 10g dried red chili peppers, 100g fresh red chili peppers, 100g young ginger, 75g rice wine, 6–8 star anise, salt, MSG, cooking wine, pepper, chili oil, scallions, chicken stock, and cooking oil as needed.

　　　　(2) Preparation

　　　　1. Clean the duck thoroughly. Split the duck head, chop off the duck feet without removing the skin, cut the duck meat into 2.5cm-wide rectangular pieces, make 3/4-depth diagonal cuts on the surface of the duck gizzard to create a floral pattern, tie the duck intestines into knots, and set aside after draining.

　　　　2. Chop the dried red chili peppers into sections, cut the fresh red chili peppers into rough cubes, slice the young ginger, tie the scallions into knots to line the bottom of the serving plate, and dissolve the Hongjiang sweet bean paste in a small bowl using a little chili oil.

　　　　3. Heat a clean wok over a flame, add oil, and stir-fry the duck feet until they turn golden yellow. Then add the duck head, floral-patterned gizzards, and tied intestines, and stir-fry briefly. Next, add the duck pieces and stir-fry over medium heat until you hear popping sounds from the duck pieces. Add the star anise and continue stir-frying. When the wok is very hot, pour in the rice wine and quickly stir-fry over the flame. Once the duck pieces stick to the wok and turn light yellow with all moisture evaporated, add the sweet bean paste. At this point, switch to low heat and stir-fry the sweet bean paste until its aroma is fully released. Then add the dried chili pepper sections, fresh red chili pepper cubes, pepper, sliced young ginger, salt, MSG, cooking wine, and a little chicken stock. Switch to medium heat and cook for 3–5 minutes before removing from the heat. Serve on a large plate lined with scallion knots.

　　　　(3) Features

　　　　Glossy reddish-brown color, rich and mellow bean paste flavor, salty with a hint of spice.

　　　　(4) Key Points

　　　　1. Do not remove the skin from the duck feet, pay attention to the heat when stir-frying the duck, and avoid using high heat.

　　　　2. Do not add too much chicken stock—usually only half a small bowl per duck is needed—to ensure full flavor. Too much stock will dilute the taste.

　　　　3. Add salt after the sweet bean paste. Consider the saltiness of the bean paste when seasoning to avoid making the dish too salty.

　　　　4. Adjust the amount of sweet bean paste based on the quantity of ingredients and experience. Using too much can affect the color, while too little may not achieve the desired flavor.